Locked container



Au 13, 1968' 1 D'ORF'MANN 3,396, 8

' LOCKED CONTAINER Filed June 14, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I [F I l 22 1 5i s s m .20 q" 100- /lOb s 2s- S I ll L ll! 25 27 'r 25 INVENTOR OSKARDORFMA NM ATTORNEYS 1968 o. DORFMANN 3,396,898

LOCKED CONTAINER Filed June 14, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR OSKARDORFMANN BY ATTQRN S United States Patent 3,396,898 LOCKED CONTAINEROskar Dorfmann, North Bergen, NJ., assignor to Federal CartonCorporation, North Bergen, Ni, a corporation of New York Filed June 14,1967, Ser. No. 646,083 2 Claims. (Cl. 229-36) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREThe invention disclosed in this application is a container or cartonwhich is especially adapted, by virtue of its construction, to beutilized in the packaging of compressible products such as foodproducts, especially doughnuts, and which is so arranged as to preventdamage to the packaged product occurring as the carton is closed, andwhich is in addition, capable of erection and closing on high-speedautomatic machinery.

The subject matter of this invention is related to, and

the invention constitutes an improvement over, the structure disclosedin United States Patent No. 3,105,626, issued Oct. 1, 1963. In the past,boxes for the uses above specified have been devised, but these packageshad certain disadvantages. In some instances in the earlier boxstructures, especially when doughnuts were packaged, the tabs of thecovers damaged the contents as the container was closed. Further, insuch packages, it not infrequently happened that the package could notbe entirely closed at the time that the closing operation took place,because of the fact that the doughnuts were then oversize. At the sametime, it is essential that the box be so constructed that as thecontents return to or arrive at their normal size, the closure will becompleted and the cover will lock into position.

Additionally, in prior boxes intended for the packaging of doughnuts andlike articles, the end walls were formed of flaps which were not of thefull extent of the box height, with the result that the structure tendedto be weak and permit crushing of the contents when the boxes werestacked one upon another.

Moreover, whereas in past constructions certain of the box end flapswere abbreviated in order to provide locking means to retain the box inits erected condition, in the present construction, as indicated above,the flaps are full, while retaining this locking action, thus not onlyproviding an essentially increased locking action, but at the same timeassuring that the cover flaps are properly guided into position as thecover is moved to close the box, thus again assuring that the contentswill not be damaged, while at the same time assuring that due to theguiding action of the full end flap, the closure operation can be morereadily performed by high-speed machinery.

The arrangement of the various flaps and panels of the present boxsolves a problem which existed heretofore in the art, namely, that withthe box disclosed in the United States patent above referred to, thestresses to which the flaps were subjected during erection, andsometimes the stresses to which the boxes were subjected in handling andtransportation after erection, were sufficiently great to cause theengaged walls to become disengaged. The box of this invention is, due tothe construction of the end flap, such that the stresses do not causethis disadvantageous result.

It is of course to be understood that the box of the prior patent is notin any sense inoperative, but rather is highly useful when erected andclosed either by hand or by machinery operating at somewhat lowerspeeds.

3,395,898 Patented Aug. 13, 1968 It is therefore an object of theinvention to provide a box, particularly for compressible and shrinkablefoods such as doughnuts, which is capable of erection and closing by ahigh-speed automatic machinery and which is at the same time soconstructed as to assure that the contents will not be damaged duringthe closing operation and likewise, so constructed as to assure that thebox walls will be locked into the erected position and will not besubject to disengagement under stresses produced during erection,closing, shipping or handling operation.

It is another object of this invention to assure that the box of thepresent invention will have end flaps substantially co-extensive withthe full area of the end walls, thereby assuring that boxes may bestacked without causing collapse of the structure or partial collapse ofthe structure and consequent damage to the contents.

Other Objects and features of the invention will be apparent when thefollowing description is considered in connection with the annexeddrawings in which,

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the single-piece fibrous blank of thisinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the box when partly erected;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view showing the box completely erected butwith the cover open;

FIGURE 4 is a similar end elevational view of the box, but with thecover partially closed, and

FIGURE 5 is an end elevational view of the box completely closed, aportion being broken away to show the cooperation of tabs on the frontand cover flaps.

Referring now to the drawings, the blank comprises a number of panelsdesignated 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18, the panels being defined by the scorelines S. The five panels mentioned become respectively, the front, base,rear, cover, and cover flap of the completed box.

Panels 10, 12, and 14 are supplied with end extensions 10a, 10b, 12,12b, and 14a, 14b, respectively; extensions 10a, 12a, and 14a togetherforming one end wall of the box, and extensions 10b, 12b, and 14btogether forming the opposite end wall of the box. Extensions or flaps16a and 16b are formed integral with the cover panel 16 and are utilizedto lock the cover in position after the box has been filled and thecover closed. As is illustrated, particularly in FIGURE 1, extensions14a and 14b have a portion cut away to form a downwardly extendinglocking tab 21, leaving a V-shaped notch 22. Extending upwardly from theapex of the V-shaped notch 22, is a slit 23 which terminates in aportion 24 extending at an angle to the slit 23.

The front wall extensions 10a and 10b are co-extensive with the front10, that is, the height of the extensions 10a and 10b is the same asthat of the front 10. As will later appear, this provides a rigidsupport for the cover, particularly since the rear wall extensions 14aand 14b and a major portion of the base extensions 12a and 12b alsoextend to the full height of the box.

Extensions 10a and 10b are provided with apertures 25, which aperturesare generally rectangular in shape and extend at an angle which inclinesdownwardly from the front toward the rear of the finished box, as seenparticularly in FIG. 3. The cut on the line 26 defining the lower sideof the generally rectangular cutoff 25 is extended to form generallyhorizontally extending slits 27 and 28.

As will be seen by reference to FIGURES 1, 2, and 4, extensions 16:: and16b are provided on the cover member 16, these extensions beinggenerally hook-shaped and adapted to enter into the apertures 25. Thehook extensions 16a and 1612 are guided into the apertures by means ofthe edge portions of the extensions 14a and 14b, as will appear when theerection of the box is described.

The first step in erecting the box from the blank is 3 to fold the baseextensions 12a and 12b upwardly until they are at right angles to thebase 12. The front and rear extensions a, 10b, 14a and 14b are foldedinwardly at right angles to their respective panels 10 and 14, thetongues 21 being inserted through the apertures 25, as indicatedparticularly in FIGURES 2 and 3.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the extensions21 have been inserted through theapertures 25, but have not yet reached their final position, while asshown in FIGURE 3, these portions have reached their final position andthe now substantially horizontal extensions or slits 24 are engaged withthe substantially horizontal slits or extens'ions 28, thus locking theextension 10a to extension 14a and the extension 10b to the extension14b. It will of course be understood that the folding just abovedescribed is done by machine and is accomplished very rapidly so thatthe blanks are taken from a magazine and formed into open containers.

It will furthermore be understood of course that at this time, the boxis filled with, for example, doughnuts, and that only after this fillinghas occurred, is the box closed.

During the closing operation the hooked extensions 16a, 16b of the cover16 are folded along the score lines S until they are at substantiallyright angles to the cover, while at the same time the cover extension18is likewise folded along these score lines until it is at right anglesto the cover.

As the cover is closed, the leading edges of the hooks 4 What is claimedis: I 1. A container comprising a single piece of fibrous material cutand scored to facilitate erection and provide a collapsible box having abottom wall, side walls, end walls, and a cover hingedly connected toone of said side Walls, each of said end walls comprising a multi-pliedand interlocked assembly, which is formed by integral extensions of saidside walls, said extensions being of a height equal to the height of thefront and rear walls, each said front wall extension having a generallyrectangular cut-out therein, said cut-out having slits extendingtherefrom forming extensions of the bottom of said rectangular cut-out,each said rear wall extension terminating at its forward edge in adownwardly extending portion which passes through the correspondingfront extension aperture to lie behind said front wall extension, saidcover having extensions at each end thereof, each said cover extensionhaving a reentrant notch forming a hook, the nose of each hook beingadapted when the box is closed, to enter said forward and rearward slitsin said front wall extension, said hook passing between 17a and 17b ofextensions 16a3and 16b overlie the forward edges (left-hand of FIGS.3-5) of the extensions 14a and 1411, while the remaining portions of thehooks bear against the upper inner edges of the flaps 10a and 10b. Dueto this guiding, the cover hooks lie on the outside of the forwardportion of the flaps 14a and 14b, and to the outside of the portion offlaps 10a and 1% above the cut 26, but lie to the rear of the portion offlaps 10a and 10b below the out line 26. Further, When the box is fullyclosed, the sharp angles 1% and 19b of the hooks 17a and 17brespectively engage at the point of interengagement of slits 24 and 28,thereby causing a locking action of the cover into its closed position.

It will be understood thatin packaging goods such as doughnuts, it isnot infrequent that the contents, when first deposited in the box, andthe cover is closed, are in an enlarged condition and that shrinkagewill occur thereafter. The box of the present invention, due to theconstruction features heretofore mentioned, isadapted to be butpartially closed, i.e., in the fully erected condition, but with thecover not fully seated, until after such shrinkage has occurred. Whenthereafter the boxes being stacked, these covers will, due to the weightof the boxes above, be caused to close, the locking engagement justabove described will then occur.

In order to facilitate opening of the box, a cutout is provided in theupper edge of the front panel 10, this cutout being in the form shownparticularly in FIGURE 1, and designated 30. A cooperating U-shaped cut31 is made in the cover flap 18.

As shown in FIGURE 5, this arrangement of cuts I and 31 provides anexposed horizontal edge and adjacent portion of the cover flap 18, whichmay be grasped to open the box.

It is to be noted that due to the fact that the hooks a and b lie alwayson the outside of the edges of rear panel extensions 14a and 14b, theyare held in position against the inner side of the lower portion offlaps 10a and 10b and thus do not come into contact with the boxcontents, such as, for example, doughnuts, and do not damage thecontents as the cover is closed. This re! sult has not been attained, sofar as I am aware, in any of the prior structures, including thestructure of my patent hereinabove mentioned.

said front and rear wallextensions, the forward lower edge of said coverextensions lying to the inside of the front extensions and the upperforward edge lying to the outside of said front cover extensions,thereby minimizing damage to the box content on closure of the cover.

2. A container comprising a single piece of fibrous material cut andscored to facilitate erection and provide a collapsible box having abottom wall, side walls, end walls, and a cover hingedly connected toone of said side walls, each of said end walls comprising a multipliedand interlocked assembly, which is formed by integral extensions of saidside walls, said extensions being of a height equal to the height of thefront and rear walls, each said front wall extension having a generallyrectangular cut-out therein, said cut-out inclining downwardly fromfront to rear of said container, said cut-out having slits extendingtherefrom forming extensions of the bottom of said rectangular cut-out,each said rear wall extension terminating at its forward edge in adownwardly extending portion which passes through the correspondingfront extension aperture to lie behind said front wall extension, saiddownwardly extending portion being separated from the remainder of saidflap by a vertical slit with an angular termination, said angular slittermination engaging the rearward one of said slits in the correspondingfront wall extension, said cover having extensions at each end thereof,each said cover extension having a reentrant notch forming a hook, thenose of each book being adapted when the box is closed, to enter saidforward and rearward slits in said front wall extension, said hookpassing between said front and rear wall extensions and underlying saidinterengaged front and rear wall slits, the forward lower edge of saidcover extensions lying to the inside of the front extensions and theupper forward edge lying to the outside of said front cover extensions,thereby minimizing damage to the box content on closure of the cover.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,067,948 7/1913 Streit 229-361,079,583 11/1913 Seegmiller 229-36 1,127,293 2/1915 Seegmiller 229 361,600,260 9/1926 Waiter 229 36 2,704,180 3/1955 Goebel et al 229-362,944,724 7/ 1960 Lefief et a1 229-36 3,105,626 10/ 1963 McCormick et a122933 DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Primary Examiner.

